# How do I clean \*A LOT\* of apples quickly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545 "2006-09-21T12:30:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/1 "2006-09-21T12:30:12Z")
I have 2 apple trees in my yard, and there’s a buttload of fruit that I’ll pick in about 2 weeks. The wife wants to make homemade apple sauce. The apples are not pretty. They’re very dirty, and it takes a while to clean one off in the sink with a sponge, maybe 20 seconds. It’s a safe bet that I’ll fill 3 dozen 5 gallon buckets when I pick them, and at 20 seconds each, it’ll take me a few days to clean them all. An orchard near where I grew up had an automated apple washer, but they had a couple hundred trees, too. Any ideas? I doubt the garden hose can do it, and I suspect my pressure washer will make them mush… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/2 "2006-09-21T12:45:50Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] I doubt the garden hose can do it, and I suspect my pressure washer will make them mush… [/QUOTE] What kind of attachment do you have on the garden hose? I’ve got the kind with various settings, and the “jet” on that is pretty good, but well this side of pressure washer. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/3 "2006-09-21T13:10:53Z")
Maybe put them in the bathtub, fill it up and have at em. Maybe not perfect if you still have to hand scrub each apple but if a solid rinse would do it may work. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/4 "2006-09-21T13:14:06Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] What kind of attachment do you have on the garden hose? I’ve got the kind with various settings, and the “jet” on that is pretty good, but well this side of pressure washer. [/QUOTE] I have the standard pistol grip and twist nozzles, but not the select-a-setting kind… I may try the twist nozzle out. I can also change the spray pattern on the pressure washer, so I’ll try that, too. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/5 "2006-09-21T13:14:57Z")
I wouldn’t bother with the scrubbing. Dump 'em in the sink or tub and get to 'em over the next couple hours. Scrubbing doesn’t actually remove that much bacteria, soils will soak off, and cooking will take care of the rest. If you are kinda paranoid that your neighbors have been crapping in your fruit trees and you’re gonna get _E. coli_, you could add a little (just a little) bleach to the tub. If your close enough…I could, ah, ‘help’ you with some of those apples. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/6 "2006-09-21T13:24:51Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] I have the standard pistol grip and twist nozzles, but not the select-a-setting kind… [/QUOTE] I _loooooooooooooves_ my select-a-setting nozzle – well worth the $10 or $15 a good one costs. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/7 "2006-09-21T13:26:30Z")
[QUOTE=xbuckeye] If your close enough…I could, ah, ‘help’ you with some of those apples. [/QUOTE] I’m in NE NC… ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/8 "2006-09-21T13:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=xbuckeye] Scrubbing doesn’t actually remove that much bacteria, soils will soak off, and cooking will take care of the rest. [/QUOTE] I’m not worried about bacteria; the point of the exercise is the physical removal of the grime. Now that I think about it, I have several plastic barrels. I could use those to soak the apples, if I can get them clean first. My property was neglected for for many years, and there’s an astounding amount of dust and dirt covering anything that hasn’t moved in a single year. I’m no _Monk_, but even I have my limits. If I find a leftover that is useful to me, I have to clean it before I can use it. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/9 "2006-09-21T14:13:11Z")
Ok, this might be a crazy idea,but they’re going to be apple sauce. . . clothes-washing machine, if it’s an old horizontal spinner and not one of the newer euro-style clothes-flensers? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/10 "2006-09-21T14:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] Ok, this might be a crazy idea,but they’re going to be apple sauce. . . clothes-washing machine, if it’s an old horizontal spinner and not one of the newer euro-style clothes-flensers? [/QUOTE] Better–use the dishwasher, but stop it before the “dry” setting. Use no soap. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/11 "2006-09-21T14:28:42Z")
I seem to remember seeing programme on cidermaking where they just soked the apples in a big water bath, then hosed them off with a glorified power shower as they trundled down an big chute of perforated plastic or metal. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/12 "2006-09-21T14:30:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Better–use the dishwasher, but stop it before the “dry” setting. Use no soap. [/QUOTE] And use cold – or at least not hot – water. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/13 "2006-09-21T14:33:24Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] And use cold – or at least not hot – water. [/QUOTE] Why? 😕 They’re gonna be made into applesauce anyway. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/14 "2006-09-21T15:19:05Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Why? 😕 They’re gonna be made into applesauce anyway. [/QUOTE] My dishwasher water is hot enough to turn the apples into applesauce IN the dishwasher. Probably not the desired outcome. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/15 "2006-09-21T15:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] My dishwasher water is hot enough to turn the apples into applesauce IN the dishwasher. Probably not the desired outcome. [/QUOTE] Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/16 "2006-09-21T16:02:42Z")
Dont you peel the apples to make applesauce? Does getting all that grime off really matter? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/17 "2006-09-21T16:16:02Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Dont you peel the apples to make applesauce? Does getting all that grime off really matter? [/QUOTE] The grime gets deposited on the peeler, and then rubs off onto the pared part of the apple, and carried into the sauce. It does matter… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/18 "2006-09-21T16:20:25Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] The grime gets deposited on the peeler, and then rubs off onto the pared part of the apple, and carried into the sauce. It does matter… [/QUOTE] [Not if you use one of these.](http://web.acsalaska.net/~fmurtley/applepeeler.mov) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/19 "2006-09-21T17:41:47Z")
Give them a dose of the jet hose. Then, when peeling, peel them under running water - just enough flow to carry the dirt away. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545/20 "2006-09-21T20:30:36Z")
We’ve done this at home, for an orchard of a couple dozen apple trees. Basically, let soaking do the work for you. 1. Put the apples in a big container of water (we used extra horse water tanks). Let them soak for several hours. Every hour or so, go out and stir them around a bit (gently). (You will have to dump the dirty water and replace with clean fairly often.) 2. Remove from the water, and spray with a hose while doing so. Putting a fishing net in the tank before adding the apples makes it much easier to remove them, and spray them. 3. Peel and use. Keep a damp towel handy; you will occasionally encounter an apple that is still dirty. But not very many. This process gets nearly all of them clean, without requiring you to individually scrub each apple. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-a-lot-of-apples-quickly/373545.md?page=2)